Relypsa Inc (RLYP)

[H2R]

SA's Brent Jensen on RLYP:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3959495-biotech-daily-digest-valeant-casts-shadow-celator-soars-spotlight-relypsa

My regular readers and real-time followers know how I feel about a small biopharma concern named Relypsa (NASDAQ:RLYP). However, given the stock finally had a huge bounce on Thursday it is time to revisit the investment case on the company for a larger audience in our Spotlight feature to end the week.

The company's primary drug candidate "Veltassa" was approved by the FDA to treat hyperkalemia in the United States late last year. The drug is officially being marketed by the company and Relypsa is beefing up its sales force to take advantage of its first mover advantage. This is the first new product to treat hyperkalemia in decades. Sales have been picking up momentum since the initial Veltassa rollout in January. The company just announced Veltassa scripts in February more than doubled over January.

Hyperkalemia involves elevated concentration of the electrolyte potassium and symptoms can include malaise, muscle weakness and palpitations, among other symptoms. Hyperkalemia can be potentially fatal and frequently is triggered by other medicines and frequently happens in a hospital setting.

There are three to four million patients in the United States alone with hyperkalemia, the vast majority of who have underlying heart failure or kidney disease as the approximate cause of their hyperkalemia. The peak market for treating hyperkalemia is generally believed in the neighborhood of $2 billion annually.